The selfish gene theory Essay Example

The selfish gene theory Paper Therefore, if people acted purely in their self-interest as relayed in the often misunderstood purest form of the selfish gene theory, this person would not contribute to the common account in the first place and would reap the rewards of everyone else’s contribution. Contributions to the common fund started at approximately 50% of the total points of each player but this decreased over the course of the game as some people put less in the common account. Justifications for the decline in cooperation were that the only way to punish people who were not contributing to the common account was to decline to contribute to that account also. We will write a custom essay sample on The selfish gene theory specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The selfish gene theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The selfish gene theory specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It begs the question as to how sustainable cooperative and social behaviours are without a significant deterrent to behaving selfishly. When this game was conducted with opportunity to heavily punish non contributors by using their own points to deduct from those of the non-contributing players this was consistently selected. This pattern of behaviour meant that cooperation no longer decreased over the rounds so cooperative behaviour was maintained by reward and punishment as it often is in society. More recent neurobiological evidence supports the notion that even this seemingly altruistic behaviour by the actor is selfish at a genetic level, De Quervain et al (2004) found that when a person punishes another for non-cooperative behaviour the dorsal striatum is stimulated and as this is the circuitry involved in reward-related activity there is a direct fitness benefit being bestowed by this behaviour to the actor. Additionally, there are indirect benefits for the group to which the actor belongs as this behaviour increases their survival chances and productivity. Therefore the overall fitness benefits to the person’s genes through the ultimate maintenance of the group and societal norms which help to preserve that group outweighs the personal sacrifices made to maintain this system of cooperative and social fairness which has fitness benefits for those who engage in it (Hamilton, 1964, 1975). If selfish behaviour increases a persons’ overall fitness then it would seem obvious that genes which promote selfishness should increase their presence in the gene pool and that altruistic genes would therefore be outbred. This would mean that Dawkins (1976) explanation for cooperative and social behaviour would be fundamentally flawed. However, game theory has shown how important the combination of those who behave selfishly and those who behave in a seemingly altruistic way is to the evolution of the genes that promote these behaviours. A game called ‘prisoners dilemma’ demonstrates that when two people behave altruistically they increase the overall fitness of both parties and hence the gene that promotes this behaviour is likely to survive and be replicated. When both parties behave selfishly both decrease their overall fitness which makes the gene responsible less likely to survive and be replicated and when one partner behaves selfishly it is their own fitness that will increase but if there is discrimination from those who have the altruistic genes in their willingness to interact with those carrying the selfish gene then this explains why the population is not overcome by those carrying the selfish gene. Dawkins purports that consciousness has evolved to be able to override the influence of the genes and that the more executive decisions are made at the helm of this consciousness. It is the relationship between the genes and consciousness that determine how a person will behave and the influence of the environment and its culture shapes consciousness more than genes do. Dawkins acknowledged a meme as a unit of culture that can be passed from person to person at a much faster rate than genes would be and therefore memes create rules for cooperative and social behaviour and these rules help to maintain systems of cooperation by punishing those who do not engage fairly in social interactions. Therefore where behaviours cannot be explained by genes they are explained by memes and Cartesian-dualism. Because ultimately genes are primarily concerned with their own replication, they influence people to behave in ways that are most likely to meet this need; altruistic and cooperative behaviour has evolved as a consequence of its success at replicating itself and therefore cooperative and social behaviour is explained by the SGT as having evolved at the level of the genes through selfish means. Cooperative and social behaviour at the level of the organism is therefore only a mechanism to ensure that the needs of the genes are being met. The survival of the fittest is therefore not a competition for resources and advantageous selfish behaviour but it is an enhanced chance of survival and reproduction bestowed on those who behave in efficient ways such as through cooperative and social behaviours (Margulis Lovelock, 1974) Conclusively, Dawkins SGT appears to be able to offer adequate explanations for cooperative and social behaviours that enhance the fitness of the actor and those who share the same genes. If the fitness is not directly or indirectly enhanced with an immediate effect then this can be explained as having a lifetime fitness benefit by this same theory but it is worth noting that measuring lifetime fitness benefits is difficult to do which limits this explanation. The weaker the genetic connection between the actor and the recipient the weaker the theory becomes when offering explanations for cooperative and social behaviours, especially as the behaviour of the actor becomes increasingly altruistic. Therefore from the perspective of the SGT even apparently cooperative and social behaviour at the level of the organism is always one of selfish motivation at the level of the genes; put succinctly, ‘scratch an altruist and watch a hypocrite bleed’ (Ghiselin, 1974). References Dawkins, R. (1976). The selfish gene. New York: Oxford University Press. Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour. I II. Journal of Theoretical Biology. 7, pp. 1-52. Hamilton, W. D. (1975). Innate social aptitudes of man: An approach from evolutionary genetics. In R. Fox (Ed. ), Biosocial anthropology (pp. 133-155). New York: Wiley. Sachs, J. L. , Mueller, U. G. , Wilcox, T. P. , Bull, J. J. (2004). The evolution of cooperation. Quarterly Review of Biology, 79, pp. 135-160. Trivers, R. L. (1971) Evolution of reciprocal altruism. Q. Rev. Biol. 46, pp. 35-7. Gardner, A. , and West, S. A. 2004. Spite and the scale of competition. J. Evol. Biol. 17, pp. 1195–1203. Gardner, A. and West, S. A. 2006. Demography, altruism, and the benefits of budding. Journal of Evolutional Biology. 19, pp. 1707–1716. West, S. A. , Gardner, A. , Barton, N. H. (2007). The relation between multilocus population genetics and social evolution theory. 169, pp. 207–226. Maynard Smith, J. (1964). Group selection and kin selection. Nature, 20, pp. 1145-1147. Johannsen, W. (1911). The genotype conception of heredity, Amer. Natur. , 1911. 95. 1911-10005-00110. 1086/279202. Krebs, J. R. , Davies, N. B. (1993). An introduction to behavioral ecology. (3rd ed. ). Oxford, england: blackwell. de Quervain, D. J. , Fischbacher, U. , Treyer, V. , Schellhammer, M. , Schnyder, U. , Buck, A. , Fehr, E. (2004, August 27). The neural basis of altruistic punishment. Science, 305, 1254-1258. West, S. A. , A. S. Griffin, and A. Gardner. 2007. Social semantics: altruism, cooperation, mutualism, strong reciprocity and group selection. J. Evol. Biol. 20, pp. 415–432. West, S. A. , A. S. Griffin, A. Gardner, and S. P. Diggle. 2006. Social evolution theory for microorganisms. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 4, pp. 597–607. Griffin, A. S. , and S. A. West. 2002. Kin selection: fact and fiction. Trends Ecol. Evol. 17, pp. 15–21. Frank, S. A. (2003). Perspective: repression of competition and the evolution of cooperation. Evolution 57. pp. 693–705. Lehmann, L. , and L. Keller. 2006. The evolution of cooperation and altruism— a general framework and a classification of models. J. Evol. Biol. 19 pp. 1365–1376. Kummerli, R. , Gardner, R. , West, S. A. , Griffin, A. S. (2008) Limited dispersal, budding dispersal and cooperation: an experimental study. Ghiselin, M. (1974). A radical solution to the species problem. Systematic Zoology, 23, 536-554. Van Baalen M. and Jansen V. A. A. (2006) Kinds of kindness: classifying the causes of altruism and cooperation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 19: 1377-1379 Heylighen F. (1992) Selfish Memes and the Evolution of Cooperation, Journal of Ideas , 2. pp 77-84.

Muselmann in Nazi Concentration Camps

Muselmann in Nazi Concentration Camps During the Holocaust, Muselmann, sometimes called â€Å"Moslem,† was a slang term that referred to a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp that was in very poor physical condition and had given up the will to live. A Muselmann was seen as the â€Å"walking dead† or a â€Å"wandering corpse† whose remaining time on Earth was very short.   How a Prisoner Became a Muselmann It was not difficult for concentration camp prisoners to slip into this condition. Rations in even the harshest labor camps were very limited and clothing did not adequately protect prisoners from the elements. These poor conditions plus long hours of forced labor caused prisoners to burn essential calories just to regulate body temperature.  Weight loss occurred rapidly and the metabolic systems of many prisoners were not strong enough to sustain a body on such limited caloric intake.   Additionally, daily humiliations and torture transformed even the banalest tasks into difficult chores. Shaving had to be done with a piece of glass. Shoelaces broke and were not replaced. A lack of toilet paper, no winter clothes to wear in the snow, and no water to clean oneself were just a few of the everyday hygiene problems suffered by camp inmates. Just as important as these harsh conditions was the lack of hope. Concentration camp prisoners had no idea how long their ordeal would last. Since each day felt like a week, the years felt like decades. For many, the lack of hope destroyed their will to live. It was when a prisoner was ill, starving, and without hope that they would fall into the Muselmann state. This condition was both physical and psychological, making a Muselmann lose all desire to live.  Survivors speak of a strong desire to avoid slipping into this category, as chances of survival once one reached that point were almost non-existent.   Once one became a Muselmann, one simply died shortly thereafter. Sometimes they died during the daily routine or the prisoner might be placed in the camp hospital to silently expire. Since a Muselmann was lethargic and could no longer work, the Nazis found them unuseful. Thus, especially at some of the larger camps, a Muselmann would be chosen during a Selektion to be gassed, even if gassing was not part of the primary purpose of the camp establishment. Where the Muselmann Term Came From The term â€Å"Muselmann† is a frequently occurring word in Holocaust testimony, but it is one whose origins are highly unclear.  The German and Yiddish translations of the term â€Å"Muselmann† corresponds with the term â€Å"Muslim.† Several pieces of survivor literature, including that of Primo Levi, also relay this translation.   The word is also commonly misspelled as Musselman, Musselmann, or Muselman.  Some believe that the term originated from the crouched, almost prayer-like stance that individuals in this condition took on; thus bringing forth the image of a Muslim in prayer.   The term spread throughout the Nazi camp system and is found in survivor reflections of experiences in a large number of camps throughout occupied Europe. Although the use of the term was widespread, the largest numbers of known recollections that use the term include a stop in Auschwitz.  Since the Auschwitz complex often acted as a clearinghouse for laborers to other camps, it is not unthinkable that it the term originated there.   A Muselmann Song Muselmnner (the plural of â€Å"Muselmann†) were prisoners that were both pitied and avoided. In the dark humor of the camps, some prisoners even parodied them. For instance, in Sachsenhausen, the term inspired a song among Polish inmates, with credit for the composition going to a political prisoner named Aleksander Kulisiewicz.   Kulisiewicz is said to have created the song (and a subsequent dance) after his own experience with a Muselmann in his barracks in July 1940.  In 1943, finding a further audience in newly-arrived Italian prisoners, he added additional lyrics and gestures. In the song, Kulisiewicz sings about the horrible conditions within the camp. All of this takes its toll on a prisoner, singing, â€Å"I’m so light, so slight, so empty-headed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then the prisoner loses his grip on reality, contrasting a strange giddiness with his poor state of health, singing, â€Å"Yippee! Yahoo! Look, I’m dancing! / I’m retching warm blood.† The song ends with the Muselmann singing, â€Å"Mama, my mama, let me gently die.†